Rockets, Morey rave about their ‘most boring draft ever’

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Daryl Morey happily emerged from Rockets owner Leslie Alexander’s office and declared he had just completed “our most boring draft ever.” He did not seem to mind.

The Rockets general manager had no complaints with the night’s proceedings, and even its lack of activity in his corner of Toyota Center, because he felt so good about Isaiah Canaan, the player he picked up, and so confident that he will pull off the salary cap clearing deal he did not on Thursday.

“Excited,” Morey said. “Obviously, our offseason is more focused on free agency this year in terms of what can help now.”

With that in mind, Morey had talks on several deals to create the cap space he hopes to need to sign Lakers free agent center Dwight Howard, according to an individual with knowledge of the talks. Several teams involved in talks on Thursday could still be involved in a move. A person familiar with the Rockets plans said some of the moves discussed would involve Thomas Robinson, but that there are other possibilities.

Morey would not offer any specifics, but said he had no concern that he would be able to make a deal necessary to create cap room or that the common knowledge that he might need to make a move would adversely affect his bargaining position.

“We’re 100 percent confident that we will be set up well,” Morey said. “We know we can execute what we want to execute. There is no agreed-upon trade at this time.”

Morey was nearly as certain about the player he selected with the 34th pick. He cited the history of undersized point guards going later in the draft and succeeding, along with his own second-round picks. But mostly, he raved about Canaan.

“Of course every GM says they’re shocked the guy (they draft) was available. Isaiah was someone we were targeting big time,” Morey said. “We feel like shooting is something we can’t get enough of on a team with our plans going forward. This guy is one of the best shooters to come out of college for a while.

“He’s a big athlete. He’d have had the highest vertical of anyone on the NBA last year at the one spot. He’s short, but he’s thick so he’s not a liability defensively. Tough kid. Really good kid. Not just an elite 3-point shooter, he can take people off the bounce. Can really fill it up and do it efficiently, which everyone knows we like.

“Really safe with the ball, can shoot open, guarded and off the bounce, attacks the hoop well. Really does it all on offense. Because he’s strong and a low center of gravity, that helps him on the defensive end.”

Morey said Canaan, who played for four seasons at Murray State, “is someone that’s ready to play.” With Jeremy Lin and Patrick Beverley already at the position, however, Morey said the Rockets would likely follow their usual course with Canaan. He said all the players he considered with the pick were point guards, but only because he considered them all the best players on the board.

“He’ll be third point guard and spend a lot of time dominating with the Vipers,” Morey said of the Rockets’ D-League team. “Someday, we hope he helps us. He’ll probably go down, show what he can do. My guess is given how tough he is and how hard-working he is and how good he is, sometime during the season Coach (Kevin) McHale will be like, ‘Hey, you can’t have him with the Vipers anymore.’”

As a second-round pick, Canaan will not count against the Rockets’ salary cap until he is signed, adding to his value compared to a potential first-round pick. As always these days, free agency was not far from Morey’s mind, and a reason he had no objection to a “boring” draft night.

“We think we’re about to be in a situation we’re going to be move-constrained with our room,” Morey said. “Guys who come in on second-round deals who can help now have extra value for us. A guy who can play now, a guy who has a skills we need, a guy who still has upside with athleticism – all those things factored in a little more this year.”